Skip to content

Brought to you by

Dentons logo

The Global Mobility Review

Navigating the stormy seas of multinational expatriation.

open menu close menu

The Global Mobility Review

  • Home
  • Resources

New Wage Range Posting Recruitments Impact Immigration-related Recruitment

By Matt Schulz and Mengci Shao
January 10, 2023
  • H-1B
  • Immigration
  • United States
  • United States Immigration
  • Visa
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via email Share on LinkedIn

New California law imposes job posting requirements that impact employers’ recruitment for alien employment certification (“PERM”) for EB2 and EB3 immigrant visas, as well as H2A and H2B nonimmigrant visas.

Effective January 1, 2023, employers with 15 or more employees are required to include the pay range for the job offered in all of their job postings.

The US Department of Labor already requires that employers seeking a permanent or temporary alien employment certification must list not less than the prevailing wage at the low end of any pay range used on alien employment certification recruiting.

This new law only impacts job opportunities in California and only for employers with 15 or more employees. That said, it may be easier to post wage ranges in all cases just to be consistent. This new law does not define “job posting.” 

What constitutes a “job posting” does not seem to be defined in the new law. One might argue, for example, that this requirement extends to H2A and H2B recruitment, but not to H1B LCA, which is merely a whistleblower notice and not recruitment.

While the US Department of Labor only imposes the requirement to reveal the wage offer in the onsite posting, the California wage range requirement applies to all job postings. That means going forward for California jobs, a wage range should be stated on:

  • State workforce agency job order;
  • On-site posting;
  • Newspaper ad; and
  • All of the three alternative recruitment efforts for professionals at least to the extent relevant (e.g., companies using a recruiter might submit a copy of the notice given to the recruiter showing the wage range and companies that have an employee referral program would state the wage range on the notice sent to employees). 

There are other requirements in the California law, but none of those are related to the alien employment certification process.

New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, and Ohio have a similar, but not identical, requirements. 

The EB2 and EB3 immigrant visa classification is the most common pathway for employers in the US to sponsor the immigration of professionals with graduate and undergraduate degrees, as well as skilled and unskilled workers in short supply. DOL certification that the employer was unable to locate US workers qualified and available for the job opportunity is a key step in the immigration process. The wage offered must be equal to or higher than the higher of either: the employer’s pay to similarly employed workers; or the weighted average paid by all employers in the same geographic area to similarly employed workers.

For the full text of the California state law, see https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1162. For more information, contact your Dentons lawyer or the authors.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via email Share on LinkedIn
Subscribe and stay updated
Receive our latest blog posts by email.
Stay in Touch
california, EB2, EB3, H1B, H2A, H2B, Immigration, US Department of Labor, visas
Matt Schulz

About Matt Schulz

Matt Schulz is a member of Dentons' Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice with a focus on business immigration and employment law. He is a leader in the firm's Global Mobility practice and a member of Dentons' Venture Technology and Emerging Growth Companies practice.

All posts Full bio

Mengci Shao

About Mengci Shao

Mengci Shao is a member of Dentons' Global Mobility practice and of the Employment and Labor practice. She practices immigration law with a focus on business immigration for corporate clients and businesses in the United States and worldwide. She helps employers plan and implement global transfers, secured appropriate work permits, provided pre- and post-transfer counseling to help ensure the proper drafting and execution of employment contract, and advised employers on staffing strategies, personnel policies, corporate compliance and best practices.

All posts Full bio

RELATED POSTS

  • Citizenship
  • General
  • H-1B
  • Immigration
  • United States
  • USCIS

Fiscal Year 2024 H-1B Registration and Lottery to take place March 2023

By Andrew Behnke and Alexander Castrodale
  • Citizenship
  • United States
  • Visa

New Zealand citizens may now pursue E1/E2 visas

By Mengci Shao and Matt Schulz
  • Compliance
  • Cross Border
  • Employment
  • Global
  • Government
  • Immigration
  • Immigration Services
  • Visa
  • Workforce

Global Mobility Guide

  We are so pleased to bring you the Dentons Global Mobility Guide 2015. The ability to move skilled workers […]

By Matt Schulz

About Dentons

Dentons is designed to be different. As the world’s largest law firm with 20,000 professionals in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries, we can help you grow, protect, operate and finance your business. Our polycentric and purpose-driven approach, together with our commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and ESG, ensures we challenge the status quo to stay focused on what matters most to you. www.dentons.com

Dentons boilerplate image

Twitter

Categories

Subscribe and stay updated

Receive our latest blog posts by email.

Stay in Touch

Dentons logo

© 2023 Dentons

  • Legal notices
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of use
  • Cookies on this site